St Wilfred Complex, St Wilfred Rd - An eagerly awaited return to the pitch for TeamCuzz ended with mixed reactions from the players as they only managed to draw 0-0 with EECC. The latest result meant that they sit firmly at second last spot with 1 point from 2 matches.
The match, however, was not as uneventful as the scoreline might suggest. The bright yellow jerseys, paraded for the first time in a match, were thought to have a revitalising effect on the team, and to distract the opponents with the 1pm Sun's reflections in their eyes. But it was not to be as rain poured down continuosly halfway through the 1st half.
Based on hearsay, EECC started out the brighter team, despite wearing a dull white. However, quick closing down reduced EECC's attacks to shots from range, none of which troubled TeamCuzz's returning GK, Aril. TeamCuzz was not able to translate this stability in defence to attack, as they sturggle to create much openings of their own. Just before the downpour, the half was marred by a horrendously late tackle by the opposing right back on TeamCuzz's Syukri. The referee judged it was not deserving of a yellow card to the amazement of the crowd.
With the downpour, hope came too in the form of a substitute. Exhaustion was clearly seen in the players as Imran was called for action even before putting his boots on. His introduction provided another attacking option in the middle of the park for TeamCuzz as Khairil shifted to left back in place of Player/Manager Saifudin who was ill. That was when TeamCuzz managed to conjure up their first attack. After a free kick down the left flank, Zulkhairi found himself in an unfamiliar position - the opponent's penalty area. Unfortunately, his shot was block by the opposing defender.
Soon after, Shahrudin sent another freekick down the left which almost caught everyone out. Imran, at full stretch, managed to touch the ball and steer it goalwards and pass the line. Doing the seemingly impossible, the opposing goalkeeper dived and clawed the ball out, ala Roy Carroll in 'saving' Pedro Mendes's shot from half field. Replays showed that the ball had clearly crossed the line. Following that incident, the raging issue on the use of Goal-Line technology in football was expected to be discussed by John Dykes & gang on Football Focus.
The scramble which followed was not exciting enough for mention. Just before the half-time whistle, Shukur managed to find space outside the area but only managed to let a very huge defender to step on his leg and scar him for the rest of his life.
Totally drenched due to the torrential downpour, TeamCuzz was hoping the break could provide some comfort. However, it was to no avail as the shelter lacked exactly that, a shelter. Change in formations was deliberated in the rain as the players look helplessly at the waterlogged pitch.
As promised, Naufal came at half-time, shivering helplessly as he couldn't wait to get into action. He replaced Syukri during the interval as TeamCuzz continued with the same formation.
Leading the line, Naufal added much-needed pace that TeamCuzz lacks. However, the bad pitch disrupted TeamCuzz's Arsenal-like, free-flowing-short-pass gameplay derived since the Dome days. That left them to have mostly long shots which were generally harmless. EECC's pass-and-hold gameplay seemed better suited for the pitch but they were also unable to threaten. Faisal, with his left side Rocky Balboa eyes, was introduced midway through the half to replace Syafiq. In excahnge for Syafiq's pace, he added flair and width but all efforts to break the deadlock were in vain.
The real highlight of the half, perhaps even the game, was unfortunately non-football related. Introduced at half-time, EECC's "Every-ball-is-50-50-to-me" striker lived up to his name as he lunged in for every ball which he could possibly reach. That added a new dimension to EECC's attack. Having too much of such enthusiasm might not be a good thing though. In one hopeful ball crossed in from the right, Aril clearly gathered the ball before "Every-ball-is-50-50-to-me" came lunging in with venom. Clearly unhappy, Aril verbally lashed out at the fellow. In the midst of the argument, "Every-ball-is-50-50-to-me" saw a fly on Aril's face and attempted to kill it with a light tap on the custodian. Almost instantaneously, the fly flew to the face of "Every-ball-is-50-50-to-me" and so Aril returned the favour. Having thought they were fighting, the rest of the players separated the 2 juggernauts from each other. The referee then baffled everyone by sending both players for early showers, as if they havent already had enough on the pitch.
TeamCuzz knew the risk when they only registered one GK for the game. As such, Faizul had to give up his yellow for the gloves. This reminded fans of how Rio Ferdinand was forced to stand between the sticks against Portsmouth in last season's FA Cup. Zulkhairi took his place in defence, Imran dropped deeper in midfield, and Syukri and Fazlon acted as wingbacks. To the surprise of many, Faizul was more than reliable as he kept the score in check. As both teams went in search for that elusive winning goal, gaps at the back were expected. There were 2 occasions where EECC had the best chances of the game with low drives to both the bottom left and right corners of TeamCuzz's post. On both occasions, Faizul dived to the sides at full stretch to parry the ball away. Those saves single handedly (no pun intended) helped TeamCuzz earn the draw, and simultaneously helped Faizul pick up the Man-of-the-Match award for the second game running.
Catching up with him at the end of the game, he said, " It was inevitable that I had to go in goal when Aril went off. I was trying to keep quiet so I could remain as centre back. But well, it was all good in the end."
The player-manager sent his Captain to the press conference as he was still contemplating on a more pressing issue - whether to get an MC. With a hand on his ailing butt, the Captain said, "It was a good effort by our team given the conditions of the weather and pitch. We managed to notch our first point on the board. A good thing that we can derive from this match was our passion to win, as seen from our never-say-die attitude and half-fit players giving their very best. In addition, just like the "Drogba-Ballack-I-want-to-take-this-free-kick" moment against ManU last season, we really showed how much we wanted to win, and that is good. We might need to review our tactics to see if we are in fact playing to our strengths. I am also suggesting to the board to make some signings to beef up our team. Hopefully we could get one before the transfer window closes."
TeamCuzz's next game will be against Chesire United on 13 Sep at 1700hrs at Yio Chu Kang Sec, following MBOG's game against Team Kamikaze next week. It will then be followed by a game against MDIS FC on 28 Sep at 1500hrs at Woodlands Sec. All games will be live and exclusive on TeamCuzz TV. Check your local listing for availability.
Team Cuzz (v EECC on 31 Aug): Aril, Khairul, Faizul, Saifudin (Imran 35), Fazlon, Syafiq (Faisal 57), Khairil, Zulkhairi, Shahrudin, Syukri (Syed Naufal 45), Shukur.
No comments:
Post a Comment